Thursday, February 10, 2011

Fig Filled Friands

Since 2008, the always lovely Chris from Mele Cotte has been doing her part to celebrate the season of love with her Cucina D'Amore (Kitchen of Love) event. The idea is that we cook with at least one ingredient that can be classed as an aphrodisiac. I've managed to fit a few* in these cute little heart shaped (what other shape could they be?) friands!

There are two things that aren't obvious just by looking at these friands - one, they are gluten free - rice flour replaces regular flour for an extra light finish and two, inside, they have a fig heart.

The figs I've used are these:

Such a pretty tin, produced by Baldjis in Greece - they are whole green (Kalamata) figs that are preserved in a light syrup.

Since they are a little larger than I had thought they would be, I've only used half a fig per friand.

Whisk the egg whites with vanilla bean paste/extract until light and fluffy but stop before they reach soft peak stage.

Sift the icing sugar, rice flour and almond meal together into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cooled, melted butter - stir briskly to incorporate.

Add a large spoonful of the beaten egg whites to the mixture, stir to slacken before adding the rest of the egg whites - be gentle when folding in the egg white you don't want to deflate the mixture.

Place the silicon mould on a baking tray - half fill each heart with batter, add half a fig, then top with remaining batter.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven for about 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Once cooked let the friands sit in the tray for a few minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. If the underside seems a little moist (this can happen due to the syrup in the figs) then place them back into the oven, bottom up, for 5 minutes, or until they feel dry to the touch. When done, remove to a wire rack to cool before serving.

*the final aphrodisiac count is four - Egg, Figs, Almonds, Vanilla so I could really call these my Gluten-Free, Four Aphrodisiac, Fig Filled Friands and I'll stop with the f's in case I get into trouble.

Looking for more? Make sure you head back to Chris's site for the recap.